New to View: March 22

By Bob Bloom
The following Blu-rays and DVDs are being released on Tuesday, March 22:
A Brighter Summer Day: Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1991, The Criterion Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This highly-acclaimed Taiwanese drama, set in the early 1960s, is based on the true story of a crime that shook Taiwan to its core.
The film follows a teenager from innocence to becoming a juvenile delinquent. It is set against a back drop of restlessness, rock ‘n’ roll and the political turmoil that rocked the island during this era.
The film, which has been unavailable for many years, offers a singular vision from director Edward Yang. It is beautiful and heartbreaking simultaneously.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; Mandarin and Taiwanese LPCM; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: An interview with lead actor Chang Chen, a 2002 documentary about the New Taiwan Cinema movement, a 1992 videotaped performance of a play by Yang, a commentary track and an essay about the film comprise the major bonus offerings.

Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Series Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray)
Details: 1999-2000, Shout! Factory
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: This TV series, which ran for only 18 episodes, has quite a pedigree; its creator was Paul Feig (“Bridesmaids”) and its executive producer was Judd Apatow (“Trainwreck,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”).
The cast included Jason Segel, Seth Rogen, James Franco and Linda Cardellini. They were students at the fictional McKinley High in Detroit in 1980.
The series dealt with high school life, its cliques — the stoners, toughs, outsiders, brains, bad girls and geeks — and appealed to anyone who felt like an outsider.
Even today, the episodes continue to resonate and be relevant.
The nine-disc set features the episodes in their original full-screen aspect ratio as well as an enhanced widescreen picture.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.33:1 full-screen and 1.78:1 widescreen pictures; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio; English SDH subtitles.
Don’t miss: Hours of extras, including commentary tracks, a conversation with Feig and Apatow, more than two hours of audition footage, deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers and alternate takes, behind-the-scenes footage, original show promotional footage and a digital yearbook.

Brooklyn (Blu-ray + Ultraviolet)
Release date: March 15
Details: 2015, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13, sexual situation, language
The lowdown: Saoirse Ronan stars as an Irish immigrant who comes to 1950s Brooklyn to find work — and ends up finding romance as well.
The movie is a fine date feature. It falters a little in its second half when a tragedy compels Ronan’s Eilis to return to Ireland to comfort her mother.
But that should not stop anyone from enjoying the performances of Ronan, who earned an Academy Award nomination, and Emory Cohen as her love-struck suitor.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 5.1 descriptive audio and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include deleted and extended scenes, a making of featurette, a look at transposing the story from book to screen, and other behind-the-scenes featurettes, including a look at the cast, and a commentary track.

Steve Jobs (Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet)
Release date: Feb. 16
Details: 2015, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: This movie is not so much a biopic about Steve Jobs, but a study of the psyche of genius.
As portrayed by Michael Fassbender, Jobs, the founder of Apple, is not a likable person. He is self-centered, demanding, cruel, but also brilliant.
Fassebender and co-star Kate Winslet were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances.
Technical aspects: Blu-ray: 1080p high definition, 2.40:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 descriptive audio track and Spanish and French 5.1 DTS digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles; DVD: 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen picture; English, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby digital and English 2.0 descriptive audio track; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: Extras include a making of featurette and a commentary track.

Turn: Washington’s Spies — The Complete Second Season
Details: 2015, Anchor Bay Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: It’s a dark time for Patriots at this juncture in the American Revolution.
Philadelphia has fallen to the British, Gen. George Washington’s army is being decimated by death from disease as well as desertion.
Ironically, the general’s closest ally is his battle commander, Benedict Arnold, whose growing discontent will become treasonous.
Washington begins to rely heavily on his ring of young civilian spies behind enemy lines who are willing to risk everything to help forge the birth of a new nation.
This three-disc set features all 10 second-season episodes.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital; English SDH and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes look at the series, deleted and extended scenes, a look at Washington and Billy Lee and a featurette on a treacherous trio are among the major supplemental materials.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (DVD + Ultraviolet)
Release date: March 15
Details: 2015, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: PG, rude humor, language
The lowdown: Alvin, Simon and Theodore return as they take a wild road trip to Miami, hitting several hilarious detours that lead to some hijinks and fun musical interludes.
Jason Lee returns as well.
The movie will mostly appeal to youngsters and longtime fans of Alvin and his pals.
Technical aspects: 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 Dolby digital, English 5.1 audio descriptive track and Spanish and French 2.0 Dolby digital surround; English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
Don’t miss: A behind-the-scenes featurette and a playlist of Alvin and the Chipmunks’ best songs from all their movies comprise the major bonus offerings.

Blue Denim
Release date: March 16
Details: 1959, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: Carol Lynley and Brandon De Wilde star in this 1959 drama about two teenagers facing the dilemma of an unwanted baby.
The topic of teenage pregnancy was shocking and daring subject matter for that strait-laced and uptight era, but the movie is handled with sensitivity, even though, by today’s standards, it is naïve and dated.
The feature is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Fox Cinema Archives collection and can be found at www.foxconnect.com or other online sellers.
Technical aspects: 16:9 widescreen picture.

Disturbing Behavior (Blu-ray)
Details: 1988, Scream Factory
Rated: R, violence, language, drug content
The lowdown: Three young performers who went on to bigger and better things — James Marsden, Katie Holmes and Nick Stahl — star in this sinister drama set at Cradle Bay High School where the “Blue Ribbons,” the school’s top clique, hide shocking and dark secrets under their perfect façade.
It is up to the outsiders and misfits to figure out what is actually going on in order to save the school, their town and themselves.
Technical aspects: 1080p high definition, 1.85:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio; English subtitles.
Don’t miss: Supplemental materials include deleted scenes, an alternate ending and a commentary track.

Dr. Kildare: The Complete Fifth Season, Parts One and Two
Release date: March 8
Details: 1965-66, Warner Archive Collection
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: The fifth season was the final one for this medical drama starring Richard Chamberlain as the idealistic Dr. James Kildare.
Several changes occurred during the season, the most obvious of which was the show’s change from black-and-white to color.
Also, it was refigured as a twice-weekly half-hour series instead of its once weekly hourly format.
Thus, this seven-disc set features 58 episodes with storylines that carried over several evenings.
The show featured a bevy of name guest stars, including James Mason, future Oscar-winners Cloris Leachman and George Kennedy, as well as Fred Astaire, Kim Hunter, Darren McGavin, Basil Rathbone, James Earl Jones, Ricardo Montalban, Oscar-winner Martin Balsam, John Saxon and future Capt. James T. Kirk, William Shatner.
The set is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Warner Archive Collection and can be found at www.wbshop.com, www.warnerarchive.com or other online retailers.
Technical aspects: 1.37:1 (4×3) full-screen picture; English Dolby digital monaural.

All Hell Breaks Loose
Details: 2014, Wild Eye Releasing
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A biker gang called Satan’s Sinners, that was literally spawned from hell, attack a bride and groom on their wedding day, they get the fight of their devilish lives.
The groom is murdered but, through some divine intervention, returns with a heavenly arsenal in order to save his new wife from becoming a sacrifice to Satan.
The resurrected groom finds some allies in a local sheriff, a priest and a cowboy, who just fight be someone really higher up in disguise.
The movie, which mixes gore and guffaws, is an homage to the biker flicks of the 1970s and ‘80s.
Technical aspects: Widescreen picture.
Don’t miss: Deleted scenes and a commentary track comprise the major bonus features.

Cowboys vs. Dinosaurs
Details: 2015, Monarch Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: An accidental explosion at a mine unleashes a horde of dinosaurs that begin terrorizing a nearby town and its residents.
It’s up to a band of gun-slinging cowboys to battle these beasts from the past and save their town.
The movie features some decent special effects for a low-budget effort.
Technical aspects: 1.78:1 widescreen picture; English 5.1 surround audio; English closed-captioned subtitles.

Joshua Then and Now
Release date: March 16
Details: 1985, Fox Home Entertainment
Rated: R, language
The lowdown: James Woods stars in this adaptation of Mordecai Richler novel’s about a Jewish writer living in Canada whose father was a small-time crook, and who marries into a politically and socially prominent WASP family.
Alan Arkin gives a fine performance as Woods’ father in this comedy-drama directed by Ted Kotcheff.
This is a made-on-demand DVD-R from the Fox Cinema Archives collection and can be found at www.foxconnect.com or other online sellers.
Also, note that the movie, originally produced in a widescreen format, is being released on DVD-R is a full-screen, pan-and-scan mode.
Technical aspects: 4×3 (pan-and-scan) full-screen picture.

“The Perry Mason Movie Collection: Volume 5”
Details: 1993-95, CBS DVD-Paramount Home Entertainment
Rated: Not rated
The lowdown: A three-disc set featuring the final six made-for-TV “Perry Mason” movies, two starring Raymond Burr as Mason while the other four feature guest stars Paul Sorvino as Anthony Caruso and Hal Holbrook as “Wild Bill” McKenzie filling in for the famed defense attorney.
The titles of the six movies are “The Case of the Telltale Talk Show Host,” “The Case of the Killer Kiss,” “The Case of the Wicked Wives,” “The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle,” “The Case of the Grimacing Governor” and “The Case of the Jealous Jokester.”
Along to aid the attorneys are Barbara Hale’s Della Street and William R. Moses’ Ken Malansky.
Technical aspects: 4×3 full-screen picture; English Dolby stereo; English SDH subtitles.

DIGITAL DOWNLOADS

The Forest (Universal Studios Home Entertainment)
The Revenant (Fox Home Entertainment)

Coming next week: Point Break

Bob Bloom is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. He reviews movies, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. He can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow Bloom on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook. Movie reviews by Bloom also can be found at Rottentomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.